Getting a license to use music, or do you need one?

I am interested in sending out a sample CD of my work to prospective

clients, and would like to include a few songs in there with it.

I've looked at royalty free music and it is almost all not what I'm

looking for and the better ones are close at best. The songs I'm

thinking of using are not the biggest mainstream songs, but some are

from mainstream artists.

Could I just give credit to the artist and use it, or do I have to

get license, and if so, how do I go about doing so? I remember

looking at BMI, but I do not see how to go about contacting anyone

directly about what I want to use it for. It's somewhat of an odd

use It seems

Thanks for any help out there - you guys are always so resourceful...

thank you

You may want to look at the Music Publisher's Association's website on obtaining use of copyrighted music. http://www.mpa.org/crc.html

They lead you through the steps.

This sounds like a case where a license will be needed.

I can't answer how you go about getting a license, but I've seen enough threads like this to know you do need one. It doesn't matter what you're using it for. If it's not in the public domain, you need permission.

Since this question has come up before, a search through the archives may be useful. Otherwise, I'm sure someone will come along that can point you in the right direction. :)

Timothy, I would carefully consider what the poster above said. It can be an annoyance

and may not be worth the hassle. If you still want to try this and do it legitimately try

contacting ASCAP. I'm not sure they are the correct group for licensing promo CD music,

but I suspect they will point you in the right direction if not. <a href="http://

www.ascap.com/licensing/generalfaq.html">Here are some faqs from them. </a>

Just as our work is copyrighted music is copyrighted. You wouldn't want someone using your images without permission or compensation and neither would music artists, so just giving credit won't cut it.<p>

Most compositions are represented by either BMI or ASCAP. Both have specific licenses for just about every conceivable use and BMI has them on line. <p>

Since you are interested in using specific songs I would say that you would need to find out which agency they are listed with then they would be able to give you a cost according to your use. I am only familiar with "blanket" licenses such as you would need for background or foreground music in retail or other businesses. There, any song could conceivably be played and you would need a license from both BMI and ASCAP to cover all your bases. Costs vary greatly depending on use and size of the establishment. An office would pay something like thirty five cents per year for each employee and a small retail store would pay something like $400 per year. Not a lot of money here though I can't say what it would be for your particular use. Easy enough to find out though.<p>

-Hal

Timothy:

If you by "clients" mean people why will/you hope will use your images, the very best thing is to forget about the music. Every year I survey a large number of photo editors, photo researchers and ADs for PhotoSource International (the end result is the Photobuyer Survey Report) and the main complaint these people have about digital promotions is things like added music, flash presentations, slow loading slide shows and so on.

Rule of thumb is keep it clean, simple, fast and compatible.

If you decide that you must have music, music is - unless in the public domain - copyrighted just like photographs. Hence you need permission from the copyright holders of the songs/recordings you intend to use.

Hope that helps.

You should make arrangements with ASCAP, BMI, the folks in Canada (CECAC?? it's been a while) or whoever represents the commercial rights for the artists.

<<I do not see how to go about contacting anyone directly...>>

Pick up the phone and call them. Honestly, this is not rocket science. They have the rights to stuff you'd like to use. They will find out how to get a few dollars from you in return for permission to copy the music onto your commercial marketing CD. Just call 'em.

If the price they quote is too high, fine. Leave the music off the CD and let the photos sell themselves in silence.

<<Could I just give credit to the artist and use it>> No, sorry. This is a good-hearted sentiment but not the correct approach.

Think how you would feel if Shania Twain or some other wonderfully successful recording artist used one of your photos as the cover shot of her next CD... and instead of a nice chunk of cash you got a teeny bit of fine print on page three of the liner notes.

Have fun, do the right thing, and may you be very successful.

Had the same problem when I was doing multi-projector slide shows. Getting permission to use music is a nightmare.

There are a couple of answers-

The New England Camera Council, I think it is, has a bunch of royality free music you can load and use without charge. I don't know if it's on the net, or you would have to go get it on a loan and return basis. You might check their web site.

Also, one of my friends does profesional Video, commercials for local television, weddings, etc. He has a set of Music CD's that give him the rights to use the music in his videos, but they were not cheap. If you can find a Video person in your area, you might want to try this approach.

Both of these sources provide "background" type Musak, not pop tunes though.

Glenn

Adding music to a CD slideshow is great way to increase sales especially to Seniors.

Instrumental music with a 4/4 beat gets them excited. If you can't get license or find

it to costly, try what I'm working on. I have a friend who's a musician, he's giving me

music in exchange for me shooting photos for his website and CD cover. We give each

other credit and a link back to our websites. Good Luck. Tim

BMI is only involved with broadcast rights. You need to contact the individual

publishers and ask them about "synchronization rights" for use on your CD.

<i>BMI is only involved with broadcast rights.</i><p>

Maybe that was the case years ago but I don't believe so now. They license for many uses including the ring tones for cell phones.<p>

-Hal

Tim,

You need a Sync License. The Harry Fox Agency brokers these transactions. go to www.nmpa.org/hfa. Their phone # is 212-370-5330

The cost is per CD. I think There is a 500 License min. If you want less go to Contact the artist directly. if you search on BMI.com or Ascap.com ( every artist is listed on one or the other) you can find out who is the the publisher and contact them. Best Wishes.

Matthew